Pseudo-tracked vehicular toy



Sept. 11 1945.

O. F. LARSEN. JR

PSEUDO-TRACKED VEHICULAR TOY Filed Feb. 7, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 n k u HHhl &

O 36 mvENTo .7 OLA] F. LAESENJE.

BY 7 E A; iORNEY Sept 0. F. LARSEN, JR 2,

PSEUDO-TRACKED VEHICULAR 'IOY Filed Feb. 7, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mia. 4.

INVENTOR- OZA/ F. LAPSEMJR.

Patented Sept. 11, 1945 PSEUDO-TRACKED VEHIGULA'R TOY Olai F. Larsen, Jr., Demarest, N. J., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to NomaElectric Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 7, 1944, Serial No. 521,365

8 Claims.

This invention relates to pseudo-tracked vehicular toys.

Tracked toys are expensive to make because of the difiiculty of duplicating their endless tracks, and heretofore it has been the general practice to make inexpensive pseudo-tracked vehicular .toys with the entire visible part of the track stationary and integral with the body and to provide wheels either underneath or alongside of the body. As a result, these simulated tracked vehicles did not have the desired realistic appearance.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an inexpensive pseudo-tracked vehicular toy whose tracks, whether stationary or in motion, more closely resemble the endless tracks of the actual tracked vehicle.

It is another object of theinvention to provide a pseudo-tracked vehicular toy whose wheels are so positioned and constructed as to form a part of the endless pseudo -track.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pseudo-tracked vehicular toy in which the track simulating portion includes Wheels and a stationary member between the wheels and in which the gap between the wheels and stationary member is so arranged that it enhances the resemblance of the pseudo-tracked vehicular toy to an actual tracked vehicle.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide a pseudo-tracked wheeled toy chassis which is adapted to have detachably mounted thereon any one of a plurality of bodies, such, for example, as a tank body or a tank destroyer body and which chassis is so constructed that any one of the various bodies can easily be secured against rotation.

An ancillary object of the invention is to provide a pseudo-tracked wheeled vehicular toy whose parts are of such configuration that they may be made by transversely cutting longstrips of uniform cross-section, which can be molded if the toy is made of wood, or extruded if the toy or toy part is made from a plastic.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a pseudo-tracked wheeled vehicular toy which has few and simple parts, is easy to manufacture and is of rugged construction.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the constructions hereinafter described, and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the-claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which are shown various possible embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a toy tank embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view therethrough taken substantially along the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig.3 is a bottom plan View thereof;

Fig. 4 is .a top plan vieW of a toy tank-destroyer embodying a modified form of my invention;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view therethrough taken substantially along the line 5--5 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view thereof; and

Fig. '7 is a reduced side elevational view thereof.

In general I accomplish the severalobjects of my invention by providing a vehicular toy which consists of a pseudo-tracked Wheeled chassis having means thereon for detachably receiving any one of a plurality of bodies which are specially constructed for use in conjunction with the chassis. The chassis has at least fou wheels which are corrugated or grooved in such ratio to the size of the chassis that the resulting ridges resemble the tread elements of an actual endless track. These wheels may be located at what would be the .extremefront and back portions of a real endless track, and intermediate each lateral pair 'ofwheels is a member whose top surface is corrugated .in the same manner as the wheels to provide .a series of ridges which resemble a piece of. endless track between the front and back wheels. This piece of pseudo-track is made to appear to be an unbroken continuation of the pseudo-track on the frontand back wheels by disposingithe top surface of said member in approximately the same plane as the tops of the wheels and constructing the ends of said member adiacent the wheels so as to overhang and conceal a considerable portion of the periphery of the wheels.

By constructing the toy in this fashion, when it is viewed from the front, top Or back, the "track simulating portion thereof has a highly realistic appearance and the gap between a wheel and an end of such member merely appears to be a space between tread elements of the endless pseudotrack. I

Referring now in detail to the drawings and more particularly to Figs. 1 through 3, I have there shown a tank toy ill embodying my invention including a chassis l2 and a tank-simulating body 14.

The chassis comprises a body section It of appropriate length and width which are such asto approximate the proportions of the chassis of the tracked vehicle which the pseudo-tracked vehicular toy ill is to resemble. The front and rear edges [8, 26 of the body section may be rounded off to enhance the resemblance of the chassis to that now used by the armed forces.

Suitable means are provided to rotatably mount wheels 22 at each of the four corners of the body section. Such means may conveniently comprise two strips 24 having ribs 26 on their upper surface which are adapted to be received in transverse slots 23 in the undersurface of the body section !6. The strips 24 also-each have a slot 3|) cut in the upper surface thereof to receive an axle in the form, for example, of a dowel pin 32, the slot 36 having a width and depth substantially equal to the diameter of said pin so that the strip will firmly hold the axle in position. The strips may be secured to the block 16 in any suitable manner as, for example, by glue or by brads 33. The axles are of such length that when centrally located in the slot 36 their ends project to both sides of the body section [6 a distance greater than the thickness of the wheels 22. i

The wheels are corrugated to provide a plurality of ridges which extend parallel to the axes of rotation and are uniformly spaced around the peripheries thereof, these corrugations being of such size and relative arrangement that the ridges 34 formed thereby resemble the tread elements of an actual endless track. The axles 32 are loosely received in central apertures extending through the wheels 22.

To create the appearance of an endless track on each side of the chassis I2, I provide the body section 16 with a pair of oppositely extending projections 36 which laterally protrude at least as far as the outer faces of the wheels 22. The upper surfaces of these projections are approximately coplanar with the tops of the wheels and are corrugated in the same manner as the periphery of said wheels to thus provide a series ofridges 38 whose width and spacing is approximately similar to that of the wheelridges 34.

The resemblance of the corrugated wheels 22' and projections 36 to an endless track is enhanced by making the ends of said projections overhang the upper quadrants of the wheels facing the projections, this being accomplished by making the projections long enough and undercutting theirends as shown in Fig. 2. With a construction such as described, the toy when viewed from above, closelyresembles a vehicle having a real unbroken endless track, as is clear from Fig. 1.

It is believed that the appearance of continuity between the wheels and projection on each side of the toy is due to the corrugations on said wheels and projections and the close proximity between the wheels and the ends of said projections.

I also provide means for preventing the wheels from ooming off the axles 32, which means may comprise a member of such design that it further enhances the close resemblance of the toy l to a real tracked vehicle. To this end said means comprises fiat lattice strips 46 having spaced holes H adjacent the ends thereof in which portions of the axles 32 extending beyond the wheels 22 are tightly fitted. The ends of each strip are rounded, as illustrated, and the strip is of such width that the wheels and projections are concealed below the bases of the ridges 34, 38. This causes the lattice strip to resemble a guard, such as is sometimes employed in conjunction with the tracked vehicles, and also conceals the sides of the projections 36 and wheels so that when the toy I0 is viewed from the side the ridges 34, 38 seem to be part of an endless track whose bottom surface terminates below the top edge of the guard strip.

When the body section It is made from wood or plastic and it is convenient for economy of manuiacture to have said section of uniform cross-section in one direction, the ridges 38 may extend all the way across the top surface of said body section between the projections 36. This will provide a series of alternating ridges and grooves extending transversely of the body section for the length of theprojections 36 which may be conveniently used in a manner shortly to be described to prevent turning of the body 54 on the chassis l2.

A staple 42 in the front edge l8 of the toy provides for attachment of a pull string.

It will be noted that every chassis part, with the exception of the body section l6, has a uniform cross-section in one direction and that even the body section is of uniform cross-section in one direction, if the projections 36 are considered as being formed by notching the corners of a block of such uniform cross-section. This con struction minimizes the manufacturing costs of the toy since each of the chassis parts may be made from an elongated strip, having a uniform cross-section corresponding to the part, by transversely cutting the strip and, in the case of the body section only by additionally notching the corners of the cut piece. Long strips of the de sired cross-sections may be easily formed from wood by moulding or from a plastic material by extrusion and the chassis just described can thus be made and assembled at a very low cost.

The body section I6 is provided with a pair of holes 44 which are employed to detachably but firmly secure any one of a number of bodies to the chassis. The body [4 illustrated in Figs. 1 through 3 is of such configuration as to cause the toy H] to resemble a tank. Said body includes a cab-section 46 and turret-section 48 of appropriate contour. The cab-section has an aperture 56 vertically extending therethrough and the turret-section has a hole 52 in its undersurface. A post 54 snugly fitted in the forward hole 44 in the body section l6 passes freely through the aperture 50 and is snugly received in the hole 52 in the turret so as to secure the turret and the cab-sections to the chassis l2 and permit swivelling of the turret. Means are provided to prevent turning of the cab-section 46 relative to the body section l6. Such means comprises a rib 56 on the unclersurface of the cabsection 46 which is so positioned relative to the aperture 56 that it is received in a groove in the body section between adjoining ridges 38. This rib may be moulded on the cab-section 46 during the formation of a long strip of uniform cross-section corresponding to that of said body section.

It will be noted that each body part, like each chassis part, is so designed that it can be made by transversely cutting a long strip of uniform cross-section.

It will also be noted that the rib 56 can be formed during moulding or extrusion of the strip fromwhich the cab-section 46 is fabricated since the cab-section, like the body section I6, is of uniform cross-section in a direction transverse In Figs. 4 through 6 I have shown another toy vehicle .60 embodying a modified form of my invention having the same chassis l2, and tank destroyer body 62 which is interchangeable with the tank body [4. Said tankdestroyer body comprises a gun platform section .64 whose base 6.6 (Fig. 6) has a width approximately equal to that of the body section l6 exclusive of the projections 36. Above the base 66 the platform 64 widens out, as at 68, to cover a portion of the simulated endless track. The platform section is provided with a deep longitudinal slot 70 which, as will be seen, accommodates the pseudocannon, and a pair of shallow longitudinal slots 12 in which pseudo-machine guns 14, comprising small dowel pins, are received. The slots 10 and 12 extend the entire length of the platform section 64 so that said section can be made by transversely cutting a long strip of uniform crosssection having said slots moulded therein.

The undersurface of the platform section has a pair of holes 16 in each of which a dowel pin 18 is tightly received, the projecting ends of the pins being tightly fitted in the matching holes 44 of the body section whereby the platform section is non-rotatably firmly and detachably secured on the chassis l2.

Bearing sections 8!] are securely mounted on the forward portion of the platform section 64 to either side of the slot 10, each bearing section having an undercut slot 82 in which the ends of a trunnion-like pin 84 are tightly fitted. Said pin serves as the pivotal support for a pseudo-cannon 86 comprising a rod 88 whose forward end 90 'is apertured to resemble a gun muzzle. The cannon is seated and adhesively secured in a groove 92 moulded in the top of a gun carriage strip 94. A second groove 96 cut in the bottom of the groove 92, receives a short dowel pin 98 at its forward end to simulate the recoil mechanism of a cannon. The trunnion pin 84 is snugly received in a through transverse aperture in the gun carriage 94, to permit rotation of the gun between limits defined by abutment of the carriage with the bottom of the slot 10.

It will be appreciated that all of the parts of the tank destroyer body 62 can be cut from moulded or extruded pieces of uniform crosssection.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device and method for making the same in which the several objects of this invention are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A pseudo-tracked, wheeled vehicular toy including a chassis comprising a body section, a pair of spaced wheels rotatably mounted on each side of said section, the peripheries of said wheels being corrugated parallel to the axes of rotation thereof to provide spaced ridges resembling tread elements, and a member extending between each lateral pair of wheels, th'e upper surface of each member being approximately coplanar with the tops of the wheels associated therewith and being corrugated parallel to the axes of rotation of the wheels, the spacing and size of the corrugations on-said members :being the? same as that of the corrugations on said wheels, and the ends of each member overhanging the upper quadrants of the-wheels adjacent saidends.

2. A pseudo-tracked wheeled vehicular toy as set forth in claim 1 wherein the width of the members is approximately equal to that of the wheels.

3. A pseudo-tracked wh'eeled vehicular toy as set forth in claim 1 wherein the upper surfaces of the chassis and members are coplanar and wherein the corrugations on the members are in registry and at least one corrugation extends from one to the other of the members across the upper surface of the chassis to provide means for non-rotatable mounting of a body on the chassis.

4. A pseudo-tracked wheeled vehicular toy including a chassis comprising a body section having a central portion thereof corrugated from one side to the other and the four corners notched up to the corrugations to receive wheels which are corrugated around their peripheries parallel to the axes of rotation of the wheels the corrugations in said body section being likewise parallel to the axes of rotation of said wheels, and means to rotatably mount said wheels on said body section and in said notches, said wheels, wheel mounting means and body section each being of uniform cross-section in one direction whereby they may be formed by transversely cutting long strips of uniform cross-section.

5. A pseudo-tracked wheeled vehicular toy including a chassis comprising a body section having a central portion thereof corrugated from one side to the other, the four corners of said body section being notched up to the corrugations, a wheel in each notch, and means to rotatably mount said wheels on said body section with their tops approximately coplanar with the top surface of said section, said wheels being corrugated around their peripheries parallel to their axes of rotation and to the corrugations on the body section, the spacing and size of the corrugations on said wheels being similar to that of the corrugations on said body section, the ends of said notches being out so as to conceal portions of said wheels from above.

6. A pseudo-tracked wheeled vehicular toy including a chassis comprising a body section having a central portion thereof corrugated from one side to theother, the four corners of said body section being notched up to the corrugations, a wheel in each notch, and means to rotatably mount said wheels on said body section with their tops approximately coplanar with the top surface of said section, said wheels being corrugated around their peripheries parallel to their axes of rotation and to the corrugations on the body section, the spacing and size of the corrugations on said wheels being similar to that of the corrugation in said body section, the ends of said notches being cut so as to conceal portions of said wheels from above, a body whose base is approximately as wide as the transverse width of said body sec-- tion between the notches whereby said body conceals all of the corrugations in the body section except those in registry with the wheels and thus causes the unconcealed portions of the corrugations and the corrugated wheels to resemble an unbroken endless track, means to mount said body on said chassis, and means to prevent relative rotation of said chassis and said body.

7. A pseudo-tracked wheeled vehicular toy as set forth in claim 6 wherein the means to prevent relative rotation of the body and the chassis comprises a rib on the undersurface of the body which is fitted into a groove formed by the corrugations on the chassis.

8. A pseudo-tracked wheeled vehicular toy as set forth in claim 6 wherein a guard strip is secured to each side of the chassis with its end edges rounded about centers coincident with the axes of rotation of the wheels and with its end and top edges disposed just below the bottoms of the 5- corrugations in the wheels and body section.

OLAI F. LARSEN, J R. 

